Queens Blackout

Documents

In July 2006, during one of the hottest weeks in New York in recent memory, more than 100,000 Queens residents were left without power when the power grid failed. Shockingly, it took Con Edison days to assess the problem and give an accurate estimate of customers without power. The affected Queens residents were left in the dark and without air conditioning or refrigeration for more than a week, impacting the elderly and the sick and costing Queens businesses thousands of dollars. I have pressed Con Ed for answers and have asked for a government hearings on the fiasco. For three days, members of my staff visited and contacted local businesses to get a better sense of the blackout’s impact on area businesses, and I issued a report based on the findings. To make more than 100,000 residents go without power in the most oppressive of weather conditions is a disaster, and for the power company to be slow and confused in their response is unacceptable. I am working to ensure that this type of problem is not repeated. 

Documents

08/10/06 - Concerns for Burke about insurance

08/09/06 - Questions for Burke

08/02/06 - Response from FERC

07/28/06 - Letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

07/25/06 - Request for federal assistance

07/21/06 - Request for federal hearings

07/21/06 - Follow-up letter to Burke

07/20/06 - Letter to the Con Edison CEO Kevin Burke

More on Queens Blackout

Senator Clinton and Congresswoman Maloney Blast Con Ed Compensation for Queens Residents and Businesses

Apr 23, 2008 Press Release
Washington, DC— Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney expressed their extreme disappointment today with reports that Con Ed will provide inadequate compensation to residents and business owners who suffered financial losses as a result of the 2006 Queens blackout. Reports indicate that Con Ed will offer compensation of only $100 for households and $200 for small businesses for losses endured during the blackout. In a letter to Con Edison CEO Kevin Burke, Senator Clinton and Congresswoman Maloney expressed concern over the amount proposed for compensation and urged the company to reconsider the offer so that Queens residents and businesses can be properly reimbursed.

Rep. Maloney on the 1-Year Anniversary of the Queens Blackout

Jul 16, 2007 Press Release
New York, NY – The following is a statement from Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Queens, Manhattan) on tomorrow’s one-year anniversary of the blackout that left more than 170,000 Queens residents without electricity for up to nine days:

Rep. Maloney Seeks Answers from Con Ed on Yesterday’s Blackout

Jun 28, 2007 Press Release
New York, NY – Today, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D- Manhattan, Queens) wrote to Con Edison CEO Kevin Burke to express her concern that yesterday’s blackout on the Upper East Side and in the Bronx may be a sign that ConEd has not done enough to shore up its power grid, particularly in western Queens.  The blackout left approximately 385,000 people without power for almost an hour yesterday evening, causing confusion on the streets and halting the 4, 5, 6, D, E, and V subway lines.  Maloney noted the blackout was likely caused by “tripped” circuit breakers at an electrical substation in Astoria, Queens, the same area that suffered through a 10-day blackout last summer.

Congresswoman Maloney Holds Legal Clinic for Residents and Businesses Affected by Blackout, Announces Con Edison’s Waiver of 30-Day Deadline to File Claims

Aug 25, 2006 Press Release
QUEENS, NY - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Queens & Manhattan) yesterday convened a forum to provide free legal counsel to Queens residents and business owners affected by last month’s ten-day blackout.  Akiro Arroyo and Jeannine Chanes, Director and General Counsel of the City Bar Justice Center’s Neighborhood Entrepreneurship Law Project joined other volunteer attorneys meeting with Queens residents and merchants at the event.

Rep. Maloney Reacts to Manhole Fires, Possible Blackouts on East Side

Aug 3, 2006 Press Release
NEW YORK, NY – After learning of three manhole fires in east Midtown this morning, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens) asked Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke what his company is doing to prevent a large-scale blackout on the East Side of Manhattan.  Maloney, who represents the East Side in Congress, expressed her concern that this situation has yet again exposed the vulnerability of New York’s power grid.

Maloney Report Details Devastating Losses for Blacked-Out Queens Businesses and Inadequate Help from Con Ed

Jul 30, 2006 Press Release
QUEENS, NY – Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Queens, Manhattan) released a report outlining the crippling losses business owners are facing as a result of the power outage in western Queens.  The owners and managers of Titan Foods, the Astoria branch of Cold Stone Creamery, Ellopia Press and other businesses joined Maloney to express their need for greater assistance than the $7,000 currently offered by Con Ed.  Maloney also renewed her calls for federal hearings on the causes of the blackout and for the federal government to declare a disaster area in western Queens.

Rep. Maloney Calls for Federal Hearings on Queens Blackout

Jul 21, 2006 Press Release
NEW YORK, NY – Today, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Queens, Manhattan) called for federal hearings on a widespread power blackout that has left thousands of Queens residents without power for five days.  In a letter to House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis and Ranking Member Henry Waxman, Maloney requested that the federal government investigate how the blackout happened, why it happened, and what must be done to reduce the vulnerability of the power grid in the nation’s most prominent terrorist target.